Monday, November 30, 2009

Driver In Fatal Crash Sentenced

The 22-year-old driver responsible for causing a fatal wreck last January was sentenced Tuesday in Snyder County. Jessica Curry admitted to huffing computer duster prior to “swerving into oncoming traffic and striking another vehicle head on” in an accident that killed her 20-year-old friend and passenger Jason Noll, and left a 56-year-old woman wheel chair bound.

Curry was “sentenced for homicide by vehicle” after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide, illegal use of solvents, two counts of driving on the wrong side of the road, and a seat belt violation back in September. Authorities recovered several cans of dust remover from Curry’s vehicle at the accident scene.

At the request of Jason Noll’s family, Judge Harold Woelfel Jr. “rejected the state’s request for a state prison sentence of up to seven years” and instead “imposed a county jail term of less than two years.” Noll’s family wanted Curry to “have the chance to turn her life around” –even granting her their forgiveness for Jason’s death.

According to court documents Curry was an avid ‘huffer’ who would get high with her mother on a regular basis (who is now in a state mandated drug treatment facility). Along with serving her term in county jail, Curry will serve six years of probation- requiring her to enroll in a drug treatment program and abstain from using alcohol and drugs. Moments before her sentencing Curry addressed the court stating, “I’m really sorry…I’m not a bad person…I just made a mistake.”